Mobile core client architecture

ABSTRACT

Multiple types of applications, electronic forms, electronic forms data instances, network services and, network services are automatically managed by methods and systems. The methods and systems allow organizations with a mobile workforce that relies on established business processes to execute timely and secure exchange of information while providing easy to use, fast, accurate and flexible information capture capability in the field. These organizations and/or third-party providers may optimize the design of mobile applications to better match existing corporate processes and forms in order to reflect existing business needs, preferred graphical user interfaces, processes and experiences on the mobile devices. Organizations and/or third-party providers may also build mobile applications that allow information to be automatically created and updated both online and offline and synchronized or routed to another mobile device, an application server, web service, software-as-a-service (SaaS), database or website.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY AND RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. national stage filing of InternationalApplication No. PCT/IB2008/000055 filed Jan. 11, 2008 and thisapplication claims priority to the International Application No.PCT/IB2008/000055, filed Jan. 11, 2008 and U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 60/884,785, filed Jan. 12, 2007 to the same inventors and herebyincorporates by reference those applications in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to mobile devices and applicationstherefor. More particularly, the invention is directed to methods andsystems for managing multiple types of applications in such mobiledevices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The increasing popularity of handheld mobile devices, such as mobilephones, personal digital assistants (PDA), and the like, coupled withadvances in wireless networking technologies, is enabling new classes ofmobile applications. For example, field force industries that heretoforecaptured information on paper-based forms may now record the information(manually and/or automatically) in electronic forms using applicationson their mobile devices. It is also possible for organizations to defineand deploy their own mobile device applications and forms as well as anybusiness processes associated therewith. An example of a method andsystem for defining and deploying mobile device forms, applications,business processes, and the like, is described in U.S. Published PatentApplication No. US2006161646, entitled “POLICY-DRIVEN MOBILE FORMSAPPLICATIONS,” filed Jan. 18, 2006, assigned to TrueContext Corp. ofOttawa, Canada. The forms, applications, business processes, and soforth, may then be provided to the mobile device users through a managedservice provider (“MSP”) hosted environment.

In existing mobile devices, however, management of the various mobileapplications, electronic forms and data therein, and correspondingbusiness processes, is largely a manual process. Typically, mobile usersmust personally monitor the status of any instance of electronic formsdata (e.g., completed?, ready to be sent?, etc.), track the differentapplications being used, perform any maintenance on such applications,and the like. Uploading the instances of electronic forms data and theinformation therein, for example, to a centralized database, or sharingthe electronic form data with other mobile devices via the World WideWeb (“the web”), also must be done manually. Similarly, there iscurrently no way to automatically track updates to mobile applications,electronic forms and business processes, and to synchronize them with aback-end server. To the extent any of the above tasks may be automated,each software developer or software provider presently provides its ownautomation component that is applicable only to that software provider'sapplications, electronic forms and business processes. The result is anuncoordinated set of applications, electronic forms, and businessprocesses on the mobile device that is inconvenient and burdensome tomanage and contributes to inefficient use of time and mobile devicecomputing resources.

Thus, despite recent advances, there is a need in mobile devices for aunified way to automatically manage multiple applications, multipletypes of electronic forms, electronic forms data instances, businessprocesses, and/or network services from different software providers.More particularly, there is a need in mobile devices to be able to allowmobile applications to automatically detect, monitor, and processelectronic forms, electronic forms data instances, business processes,and/or network services from different software providers according toeach provider's business processes, and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to methods and systems for managingmultiple types of applications, electronic forms, electronic forms datainstances, business processes, and/or network services from differentsoftware providers. The methods and systems of the invention alloworganizations with a mobile workforce that relies on establishedbusiness processes to automatically execute timely and secure exchangeof information while providing easy to use, fast, accurate and flexibleinformation capture capability in the field. As a result, theseorganizations and/or third-party providers may more easily optimize thedesign of mobile applications to better match existing corporateprocesses and forms in order to reflect existing business needs,preferred graphical user interfaces (GUI), processes and experiences onthe mobile devices. Organizations and/or third-party providers may alsobuild mobile applications that allow information to be automaticallycreated and updated online and offline as well as synchronized or routedto another mobile device, an application server, web service,Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), database or website.

In general, in one aspect, the invention is directed to a method formanaging mobile applications, electronic forms, data instances, businessprocesses, and network services from multiple software providers in amobile device. The method comprises executing a plurality of mobileapplications on the mobile device, each mobile application operable witha different electronic form, electronic forms data instance, businessprocess, and network service. The method also comprises storing contextinformation for each mobile application, electronic form, electronicforms data instance, business process and network service on the mobiledevice, the context information being stored by a unified mobileresource contextualization engine. The method further comprises allowingthe mobile applications to access the context information, wherein eachmobile application is configured to automatically process a respectiveelectronic form and electronic forms data instance according to arespective business process and network service using the contextinformation.

In general, in another aspect, the invention is directed to a system formanaging mobile applications, electronic forms, electronic forms datainstances, business processes, and network services from multiplesoftware providers in a mobile device. The system comprises at least onesubsystem configured to execute a plurality of mobile applications onthe mobile device, each mobile application operable with a differentelectronic form, electronic forms data instance, business process, andnetwork service. The system also comprises at least one subsystemconfigured to store context information for each mobile application,electronic form, electronic forms data instance, business process andnetwork service on the mobile device, the at least one subsystemincluding a unified mobile resource contextualization engine configuredto store the context information. The system further comprises at leastone subsystem configured to allow the mobile applications to access thecontext information, wherein each mobile application is configured toautomatically process a respective electronic form and electronic formsdata instance according to a respective business process and networkservice using the context information.

In general, in yet another aspect, the invention is directed to acomputer-readable storage medium encoded with computer-readableinstructions for managing mobile applications, electronic forms,electronic forms data instances, business processes, and networkservices from multiple software providers in a mobile device. Thecomputer-readable instructions comprise instructions for causing themobile device to execute a plurality of mobile applications on themobile device, each mobile application operable with a differentelectronic form, electronic forms data instance, business process, andnetwork service. The computer-readable instructions also compriseinstructions for causing the mobile device to store context informationfor each mobile application, electronic form, electronic forms datainstance, business process and network service on the mobile deviceusing a unified mobile resource contextualization engine. Thecomputer-readable instructions further comprise instructions for causingthe mobile device to allow the mobile applications to access the contextinformation, wherein each mobile application is configured toautomatically process a respective electronic form and electronic formsdata instance according to a respective business process and networkservice using the context information.

In general, in still another aspect, the invention is directed to methodfor managing mobile applications in a mobile device, the methodcomprising executing a plurality of mobile applications on the mobiledevice, each mobile application operable with a different electronicform. The method also comprises storing context information for eachmobile application and electronic form on the mobile device, the contextinformation being stored by a unified mobile resource contextualizationengine. The method further comprises allowing the mobile applications toaccess the context information, wherein each mobile application isconfigured to automatically process a respective electronic form usingthe context information.

In general, in yet another aspect, the invention is directed to a methodfor managing mobile applications, electronic forms, data instances,business processes, and network services from multiple softwareproviders in a mobile device. The method comprises storing contextinformation for one or more of a mobile application, an electronic form,an electronic forms data instance, a business process and a networkservice, or any combination thereof, on the mobile device, the contextinformation being stored by a unified mobile resource contextualizationengine. The method also comprises executing the mobile applications onthe mobile device, each mobile application operable with a differentelectronic form, electronic forms data instance, business process, andnetwork service. The method further comprises allowing the mobileapplications to access the context information, wherein each mobileapplication is configured to automatically process one or more of arespective electronic form and electronic forms data instance accordingto a respective business process and network service using the contextinformation.

In general, in still another aspect, the invention is directed to amethod for managing mobile applications, electronic forms, datainstances, business processes, and network services from multiplesoftware providers in a mobile device. The method comprises storingcontext information for one or more of a mobile application, anelectronic form, an electronic forms data instance, a business processor a network service, or any combination thereof, on the mobile device,the context information being stored by a unified mobile resourcecontextualization engine. The method also comprises executing the mobileapplications on the mobile device, each mobile application operable witha different electronic form, electronic forms data instance, businessprocess, and network service. The method further comprises allowing themobile applications to access the context information, wherein eachmobile application is configured to automatically process one or more ofa respective electronic form and electronic forms data instanceaccording to a respective business process and network service using thecontext information.

In general, in yet another aspect, the invention is directed to a methodfor managing mobile applications, electronic forms, data instances,business processes, and network services from multiple softwareproviders in a mobile device. The method comprises storing contextinformation on the mobile device, the context information being storedby a unified mobile resource contextualization engine, and executing amobile application on the mobile device. The method further comprisesallowing the mobile application to access the context information,wherein the mobile application is configured to automatically processone or more of a respective electronic form and electronic forms datainstance according to a respective business process and network serviceusing the context information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system for automatically managingapplications, electronic forms, electronic forms data instances,business processes, and/or network services from multiple softwareproviders according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of mobile device configured toautomatically manage multiple applications, electronic forms, electronicforms data instances, business processes, and/or network services frommultiple software providers according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a mobile resource contextualizationengine capable of automatically managing multiple applications,electronic forms, electronic forms data instances, business processes,and/or network services from multiple software providers according toembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a more detailed view of the mobile resourcecontextualization engine of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a method for automatically managingmultiple applications, electronic forms, electronic forms datainstances, business processes, and/or network services from multiplesoftware providers according to embodiments of the invention.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and otherembodiments of the invention, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings. Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily see that otherembodiments and changes may be made without departing from the scope ofthe invention.

As alluded to previously, mobile device applications are increasinglysupporting multiple means of manually and automatically capturing orupdating information through different interfaces and methods. Managingthis information and providing a flexible, secure framework for workingwith online and offline content in a mobile device is important toimproving the productivity and effectiveness of mobile field personneland mobile application solutions. Embodiments of the invention satisfythe above needs by providing field personnel (or their mobile devices)with a way to securely synchronize and connect with correspondingbusiness systems, such as application servers, web services, SaaS,databases and websites, both online and offline. Thus, capturedinformation may be shared with other mobile devices, exposed over theweb, orchestrated and/or organized for integration to legacy back-endsystems, databases, applications and other hosted services andapplications. This includes tracking the state of the business processesin which the information is being shared.

In some embodiments, the invention accomplishes the above by allowingmobile devices to be aware of and use context information for variousmobile applications, electronic forms, and business processes runningthereon. As used herein, the term “context information” refers toinformation that characterizes the capabilities and requirements of eachapplication, electronic form data instance and business process. Suchcontext information may include, for example, which electronic forms areto be used with which software applications and/or which networkservices, and whether the applications and services reside in the mobiledevice and/or on an application server, web service, SaaS, database andwebsite, both online and offline. Context information may also includethe status of each electronic forms instance and its business process;for example, whether and when the form is to be sent back to theapplication server, web service, database, and so forth. Contextinformation may additionally include supporting files for applications,electronic forms, and business processes (e.g., company logos and otherimage files, help files, business policies and rules, configurationfiles, etc.). Furthermore, configurations of an application, electronicform, or business process that have been applied by a user to make theforms solution more suitable to the user's requirements may also beincluded in context information. Other examples of context informationmay include times, dates, schedules, and/or conditions for synchronizingeach electronic form data instance with the application server, webservice, database, and so forth, where applicable. In some embodiments,the context information may also include a listing of any errors thatmay have occurred during execution of the mobile applications.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a system 100 for automatically managingapplications, electronic forms, and business processes from multiplesoftware providers according to embodiments of the invention is shown.The term “business process” is used herein to refer to a sequence ofevents or transitions from one business state to another where the stateis characterized by the information captured, context information, andany business process policies and/or rules that govern sharing of databetween users or with network services. The term “network service”refers to a service that can provide information capture or that can bea source of information.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the system 100 comprises at least one mobiledevice 102 capable of executing a plurality of mobile applicationsthereon (i.e., start, stop, and/or suspend the applications using anyprocess available on the mobile device). In general, such mobileapplications may include any application capable of using one or moreforms to automatically and/or manually capture information via themobile device 102. Examples of such applications may include LeadGenesysfrom LeadGenesys, Inc. of San Francisco, Calif., Outlook from MicrosoftCorp. of Redmond, Wash., and other similar applications. A singleinstance of data collected by these mobile applications in an electronicform is generally referred to as an “electronic forms data instance” orsimply “data instance.” Such an electronic forms data instance isgenerally defined as any electronic data produced by a process that maybe shared with other applications, users, and enterprise applications.Examples of electronic forms data instances that may be captured byapplications running on a mobile device or enterprise system may includedata files (e.g., XML document, image capture, binary content, etc.),streaming binary data (e.g., audio, video, etc.), and the like.

In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1, the applications are shown toinclude, by way of example, a health inspection application 104 a, aninventory control application 104 b, and a lead generation application104 c. These applications 104 a-c typically (but not necessarily) haveone or more electronic forms (e.g., a checklist, manifest, contactsheet, etc.) on which information may be captured and stored as anelectronic forms data instance. The state (e.g., completed?, ready to besent?, etc.) of the electronic forms data instances usually dictate whenthey are shared or sent to other users or to back-end services availablethrough the managed service provider.

A managed service provider 106 provides the mobile device 102 with thevarious electronic forms and supporting services and files and, in someinstances, the mobile applications corresponding to the electronicforms. The managed service provider 106 typically provides theelectronic forms and/or mobile applications to the mobile device 102over a network 108 (e.g., the Internet) via a suitable wirelessconnection 110 (e.g., a cellular link). Examples of services that may beprovided by the managed service provider 106 include mXForms, mXDocs,and/or mExperience available from TrueContext Corp. of Ottawa, Canadaand other similar services.

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the managed serviceprovider 106 may also provide the mobile device 102 with contextinformation for the electronic forms. Such context information may thenbe used by the mobile applications and related network services toautomatically detect, monitor, and process the electronic forms. Thisarrangement offers a unified way in the mobile device 102 to managemultiple types of electronic forms from different organizations and/orthird-party providers without having to deploy a separate automationcomponent for each provider on the mobile device 102. Furthermore, theorganizations and/or third-party providers may be confident that anybusiness processes they have defined will be complied with based on theapplication of the context information.

FIG. 2 illustrates the mobile device 102 of the invention in moredetail. As can be seen, the mobile device 102 has a number of functionalcomponents, including a controller 200, a display unit 202, aninput/output unit 204, a memory unit 206, and a transceiver unit 208.These components of the mobile device 102 are generally well known tothose having ordinary skill in the art and will therefore be describedonly briefly here. Furthermore, although multiple discrete componentsare shown in FIG. 2, any two or more of these components may be combinedinto a single component, and any single component may be divided intoseveral constituent components, as needed. Moreover, one or morecomponents may be added to or removed from the mobile device 102 asneeded without departing from the scope of the invention.

In general, the controller 200 is responsible for the overall operationof the mobile device 102, including execution of various softwareprograms thereon, such as the mobile device operating system (“OS”) andmobile applications. The display unit 202 is generally responsible forrendering all images and text on the mobile device 102, including anyelectronic forms used on the mobile device 102. The input/output unit204 is responsible for receiving and translating information received bythe mobile device 102 into electrical signals that can be stored in orotherwise associated with the electronic forms. The memory unit 206,which may include any temporary and/or long-term computer-readablestorage medium, provides storage for software programs and information(or the computer-readable equivalent thereof) that may be used by themobile device 102. The transceiver unit 208 is responsible for sendingand receiving signals to/from the mobile device 102 from/to the network108 (see FIG. 1). To this end, the transceiver unit 208 performs alltasks known to those having ordinary skill in the art for communicatingwith the network 108, such as adjusting the strength of transmittedsignals, frequency up/down conversion, modulation/demodulation,encoding/decoding, and other related tasks, where applicable.

As for the wireless connection 110 (represented in FIG. 1), any suitablewireless network may be used. For example, the wireless connection 110may be a cellular network, such as GSM, CDMA, EDGE/GPRS, UMTS, and thelike. The wireless connection 110 may also include a direct wirelessnetwork, such as WiFi, 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth, wireless LAN, and soforth. In the latter case, two or more mobile devices 102 may beconnected directly to each other over the wireless connection 110.

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, a unified mobileresource contextualization engine 210 may be stored in the memory 206for automatically managing mobile applications, electronic forms,electronic forms data instances, business processes, and/or networkservices from multiple software providers on the mobile device 102. Themobile resource contextualization engine 210 allows the mobile device102 to be aware of and use context information for each application,electronic form, electronic forms data instance, business process,and/or network service. Specifically, the mobile resourcecontextualization engine 210 allows mobile applications to automaticallydetect, monitor, and process each electronic form using the contextinformation for that electronic form and enables data sharing andnetwork services as dictated by the business processes. Such anarrangement helps ensure that the mobile applications running on themobile device 102 and the various electronic forms therefor comply withestablished business processes, and the like.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the unified mobile resourcecontextualization engine 210 in more detail according to embodiments ofthe invention. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the mobile resourcecontextualization engine 210 comprises a number of functionalcomponents, each of the functional components operating in conjunctionwith one or more other functional components to allow the mobile device102 and the applications running thereon to be aware of and use contextinformation for the electronic forms, electronic forms data instances,business processes, and/or network services. Such a unified mobileresource contextualization engine 210 may handle resource and servicerequests from both the mobile applications running on the mobile device102 as well as any network services used by the mobile device 102. Notethat although discrete functional components are shown in FIG. 3, thosehaving ordinary skill in the art will understand that two or more ofthese components may be combined into a single component, and that asingle component may be divided into several constituent components, asneeded.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the functional components of the mobileresource contextualization engine 210 include a device context engine300, a network context engine 302, a mobile context registry 304, anextensible application programming interface (API) 306 and extensiblecontext information 308, and a subscription and call notificationinterface 310. A secure framework 312 allows network operators and/orenterprise administrators 314 to control access to any contextinformation 308 exposed to mobile applications running on the mobiledevice 102. As mentioned above, each functional component may operate inconjunction with one or more other functional components to allow themobile device 102 and the applications running thereon to utilizecontext information for the electronic forms, electronic forms datainstances, business processes, and/or network services. For example, thenetwork context engine 302 and/or the device context engine 300 maycommunicate with the mobile context registry 304 and the extensiblecontext information 308. A mobile device operating system, includingdrivers therefor, as well as a kernel, assembler, and firmware, areshown generally at 316.

In general, the device context engine 300 is responsible for accessingor discovering and communicating (i.e., exchanging information) with allinformation capture resources available on the mobile device 102. Suchinformation capture resources may include, but are not limited to,mobile device integrated and non-integrated information capture andinput peripherals (e.g., camera, GPS, scanner, magnetic card reader,RFID readers, etc.). The device context engine 300 thereafter makesthese information capture resources available as needed to the variousmobile applications running on the mobile device 102.

The network context engine 302 is responsible for accessing ordiscovering and communicating with network services 318 that areavailable to the mobile device 102 over the network 108. Such networkservices 318 may comprise subscription-based services as well asusage-base services and may include, for example, SIP, SMTP, SMS,location mapping, call conferencing, and the like, depending on theinformation capture resources available on the mobile device 102. Thesenetwork services 318 preferably have a mobile service contextualizationcomponent 320 that generates and provides context information to themobile device 102 for the various mobile applications and networkservices 318. Preferably, each network service 318 also has a securitycomponent 322 for controlling access to the network services 318. Suchaccess control may be implemented, for example, via a passwordprotection scheme, an encryption scheme, biometric input, and the like.A network awareness component 322 of the network services 318facilitates discovery of the network services 318 by the mobile device102.

The mobile context registry 304 maintains a registry or listing of allelectronic forms, electronic forms data instances, the mobileapplications associated with each electronic form and data instance,business processes, and/or the network services 318 to be used witheach, mobile application, electronic form, and data instance. Such amobile context registry 304 may reside locally on the mobile device 102or it may be available remotely over the network 108 (e.g., from themanage service provider 106). As new information capture resources,electronic forms, data instances, business processes, and/or networkservices become 318 available to the mobile device 102, they may also beregistered or listed on the mobile context registry 304.

The extensible API 306 allows mobile applications and network services316 to access, use, modify, and/or add to the extensible contextinformation 308 on the mobile device 102. This extensible contextinformation 308 is a historical store of all context information andevents linked to the registry 304 of applications, electronic forms,electronic forms data instances, and network services. The extensibleAPI 306 may also allow the mobile applications and network services 318to access the integrated and non-integrated resources of the mobiledevice 102, including any information capture resources that may beavailable on the mobile device 102.

Finally, the subscription and call notification interface 310 allows themobile applications running on the mobile device 102 to receive updatesfor the mobile applications, electronic forms, electronic forms datainstances, business processes, and/or network services 318, and tosubscribe to changes in context information for such mobileapplications, electronic forms, electronic forms data instances,business processes, and/or network services 318.

Referring now to FIG. 4, another view of the mobile resourcecontextualization engine 210 is shown where the various functions of theengine 210 described above are illustrated in more detail. From thisview, it can be seen that the mobile resource contextualization engine210 comprises a plurality of individual modules that together enable thecontext information awareness and usage capability of the mobile device102. As before, although multiple individual modules are shown in FIG.3, those having ordinary skill in the art will understand that two ormore of these modules may be combined into a single module, and that asingle module may be divided into several constituent modules, withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. Moreover, one or more modulesmay be added to or removed from the mobile resource contextualizationengine 210 as needed without departing from the scope of the invention.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the mobile resource contextualizationengine 210 comprises a security framework 400 that includes anauthentication module 402 for limiting access to the mobile device 102to authorized users only and a cryptography module 404 for ensuringsecure, persistent storage of any information captured on the mobiledevice 102 and also interfacing with standard security librariesavailable on the operating system in some cases. An illustrative exampleof such a security framework 400 is mXSecure available from TrueContextCorp. of Ottawa, Canada. An authorization module 406 is also included inthe security framework 400 for managing authorization of collectedinformation to be shared with other mobile applications, as well as alicense management component 408 for managing mobile application accessand application information capture access. An open or extensibleprogramming interface 410 provides access to the various services of themobile resource contextualization engine 210 for any authorized mobileapplications.

Also present is a network connectivity module 412 that comprises agateway communication module 414 for managing communication for themobile device 102 over any suitable network (e.g., TCP, dual IPv4 & v6,UDP, HTTP, WAP, etc.). The network connectivity module 412 furthercomprises a notification module 416 and a server messaging module 418that together serve to notify any mobile application running on themobile device 102 whenever new captured information is available for agiven mobile application. A data compression module 420 providesinformation compression and decompression services for the mobileapplications, including compressing captured information prior totransmitting the information to its destination (e.g., database, webservice, SaaS, etc.). Finally, a network awareness module 422 discoverswhich network services 318 (see FIG. 3) are available and determineswhen and which network services 318 may be used to transmit the capturedinformation to its destination.

Other modules that may be included in the mobile resourcecontextualization engine 210 comprise a mobile forms management module428 and a mobile device management module 430. The mobile formsmanagement module 428 may in turn comprise an application manager(AppManager) 432 for managing the various electronic forms used by themobile device 102, a forms record manager (DI Manager) 434 that tracksthe information captured as electronic forms data instances, and avalidation component (DI Validation) 436 that validates the structureand format of the captured information according to business processrules and policies. One illustrative example of such a mobile formsmanagement module 428 is mXForms developed by TrueContext Corp. ofOttawa Canada. The mobile device management module 430 may comprise aconfiguration module 438 that manages configuration settings for themobile device 102, individual applications, electronic forms, datainstances and/or business processes that can be configured by the userof the mobile device 102 or be pre-configured by the managed serviceprovider 106 (see FIG. 1) or software provider. A diagnostic module 440may also be included that displays and analyzes information related tothe running of the mobile device 102, mobile applications, electronicforms, data instances, and/or business processes on the mobile device102. Such analysis may be useful for debugging or supporting the mobiledevice 102 when problems arise. Also present are a device module 442that tracks the characteristics and capabilities of the mobile device102, a scheduling module 444 that schedules transmission of theinformation captured in the electronic forms as needed in order tocomply with established business processes, a discovery module 446 thatfunctions to discover available network services 318, and a contextmodule 448 that stores and manages context information for the variousapplications, electronic forms, data instances, business processes,and/or network services 318. An illustrative example of the mobiledevice management module 430 is mXManage available from TrueContextCorp. of Ottawa Canada.

A logging, business activity monitoring (BAM) and auditing module 450provides a framework for capturing a historical log of all activitiesand events on the mobile device 102 that can be used to captureinformation used by the diagnostic module 440, as well as to provide anaudit trail captured by the logging, business activity monitoring (BAM)and auditing module 450, and log business process events and statechanges in order to compile statistics about business activity on themobile device 102. A bootstrap engine 452 may be used to provision(e.g., Over-the-Air, cradle, etc.) and remotely upgrade any component ofthe mobile resource contextualization engine 210 either in real time oraccording to a predetermined schedule. A content broker 454 may be usedas persistent storage for J2ME/MIDP based devices that allows largecontent size and several different record sizes in order to scalemultiple record management system (RMS).

Thus far, embodiments of the invention have been described in terms ofspecific functional components and modules. Following now is adescription of a method or guide for providing context informationawareness and usage in a mobile device. As with the functionalcomponents and modules, it should be noted that while the methodcomprises a series of individual steps, two or more steps may becombined into a single step, and any step may be divided into severalsub-steps, without departing from the scope of the invention. Inaddition, one or more steps may be added to or removed from the methodas needed without departing from the scope of the invention. Moreover,although the steps of the method are shown in a particular order, thosehaving ordinary skill in the art will understand that the invention isnot to be limited thereto, and that alternative sequences for the stepsmay certainly be implemented without departing from the scope of theinvention.

Referring to FIG. 5, a method 500 for providing context informationawareness and usage in a mobile device is shown. The method 500 beginsat step 502 where information capture resources available on the mobiledevice are discovered and communicated with. Such information captureresources may include, but are not limited to, mobile device integratedand non-integrated information capture and input peripherals (e.g.,camera, GPS, scanner, magnetic card reader, RFID readers, etc.). At step504, network services that are available to the mobile device are alsodiscovered and communicated with. Such network services may comprisesubscription-based services as well as usage-base services and mayinclude, for example, SIP, SMTP, SMS, location mapping, callconferencing, and the like, depending on the information captureresources available on the mobile device. These network services maythen be registered in the mobile device at step 506 along withelectronic forms, mobile applications associated therewith, electronicforms data instances, business processes, and/or network services. Newapplications, services, processes, and/or forms may also be registeredin the mobile device as they become available.

If not done so already, at step 508, a user has the option ofsubscribing to one or more of the available network services. Contextinformation for the mobile applications, electronic forms, datainstances, business processes, and/or network services may then bereceived from the network services and stored in the mobile device atstep 510. Thereafter, the mobile device allows the mobile applicationsto use the context information at step 512 to automatically detect,monitor, and process the electronic forms and electronic forms datainstances according to the business processes defined by the softwareprovider using one of the network services. At step 514, updates to theapplications, electronic forms, electronic forms data instances,business processes, network services and/or context information arereceived by the mobile device from the network services. In someembodiments, access to the context information may be limited toauthorize mobile applications only at optional step 516.

This application expressly incorporates by reference in their entiretythe following U.S. patent applications: “Method and System forCustomizing a Mobile Application Using a Web-Based Interface,” by MitchA. Brisebois, Brant Drummond, Arjun Mehta, Marc Chéné, and MarkFlannigan, assigned 60/880,170, “Methods and System for OrchestratingServices and Data Sharing on Mobile Devices,” by Marc Chéné, LiamPeyton, Kevin McGuire, and Brant Drummond, assigned 60/880,328, and“Real Time Reports and Dashboards from Aggregated Mobile Data,” by MitchA. Brisebois, Arjun Mehta, Kevin McGuire, and Cyril Soga, assigned60/880,176, each of which is being filed concurrently herewith on Jan.12, 2007, and each of which is assigned to or under obligation ofassignment to TrueContext Corp. of Ottawa, Canada.

This application also expressly incorporates herein by reference intheir entirety the following published U.S. patent applications: U.S.Published Patent Application No. US2006161646, entitled “Policy-DrivenMobile Forms Applications,” filed Jan. 18, 2006, U.S. Published PatentApplication No. US20060080397, entitled “Content Management AcrossShared, Mobile File Systems,” filed Apr. 13, 2006, and U.S. PublishedPatent Application No. US20060089938, entitled “Distributed ScalablePolicy Based Content Management,” filed Oct. 8, 2004, all of which areassigned to TrueContext Corp. of Ottawa, Canada.

This application further expressly incorporates herein by reference inits entirety International Publication No. WO2004013782A1, entitled“Contextual Computing System,” published Feb. 12, 2004, and assigned toTrueContext Corp. of Ottawa, Canada.

While the presently disclosed concepts have been described withreference to one or more particular embodiments, those skilled in theart will recognize that many changes may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the presently disclosed concepts.Any combination and/or sub-combination of the examples, embodiments,aspects, claims, methods, acts, processes, claim elements, or componentsdisclosed herein, however termed, are expressly contemplated as fallingwithin the present concepts. For example, although various aspects ofthe present concepts are set forth in the appended claims, wherein thedependent claims relate back to selected preceding claims, including theindependent claim, it is to be understood that each of the dependentclaims may properly depend from any of the preceding claims, to theextent not logically excluded, in accord with aspects of the presentconcepts. Thus, for example, the present concepts expressly includeevery possible combination of dependent claims with their respectiveindependent claim, regardless of stated dependency. Further, thepresently disclosed concepts are considered to include, withoutlimitation, any combination and/or sub-combination of the disclosedexamples, embodiments, aspects, claims, methods, acts, processes, claimelements, or components disclosed herein with the examples, embodiments,aspects, claims, methods, acts, processes, claim elements, or componentsdisclosed in the references and applications incorporated by referenceherein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for managing mobile applications,electronic forms, data instances, business processes, and networkservices from multiple software providers in a mobile device,comprising: executing one or more mobile applications in the mobiledevice, each of the mobile applications configured with a differentelectronic form, electronic forms data instance, business process, andnetwork service; discovering context information associated withresources integrated in the mobile device; receiving additional contextinformation for each electronic form from a network service; storing andmanaging, in the mobile device, the context information and theadditional context information for each of the one or more mobileapplications by a unified mobile resource contextualization engineresiding in the mobile device; providing an extensible ApplicationProgramming Interface (API) configured to provide the one or more mobileapplications access to the stored context information and the additionalcontext information; authorizing at least one of the one or more mobileapplications to access the stored context information and the additionalcontext information; allowing only the at least one authorized mobileapplication to access the stored context information and the additionalcontext information via the extensible API; each of the at least oneauthorized mobile applications automatically updating a respectiveelectronic form and electronic forms data instance according to arespective business process and network service utilizing accessedcontext information and the additional context information; and whereineach of the at least one authorized mobile applications accesses thestored context information and the additional context information duringthe updating of said respective electronic form and electronic formsdata instance.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the context informationincludes one or more of the following for each electronic form andelectronic forms data instance: current status, synchronizationschedule, associated mobile application, business process and associatednetwork service.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the unified mobileresource contextualization engine is configured to automatically createa registry of electronic forms that are available to the mobile device.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the unified mobile resourcecontextualization engine is configured to automatically discover networkservices available to the mobile device.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the resources are selected from the group comprising: a camera,a GPS, a scanner, a magnetic card reader, and an RFID reader.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the unified mobile resource contextualizationengine is configured to allow the mobile device to automatically receiveupdates to at least one electronic form and any context information forthe at least one electronic form.
 7. A system for managing mobileapplications, electronic forms, electronic forms data instances,business processes, and network services from multiple softwareproviders in a mobile device, comprising: at least one subsystemcomprising a computer processor configured to: execute one or moremobile applications in the mobile device, each of the one or more mobileapplications configured with a different electronic form, electronicforms data instance, business process, and network service; discovercontext information associated with resources integrated in the mobiledevice; and receive additional context information for each electronicform from a network service; an extensible Application ProgrammingInterface (API) configured to provide the one or more mobileapplications access to the stored context information and the additionalcontext information; authorizing at least one of the one or more mobileapplications to access the stored context information and the additionalcontext information; a unified mobile resource contextualization engineresiding in the mobile device that stores and manages the contextinformation and the additional context information for each of the oneor more mobile applications; and at least one subsystem configured toallow only the at least one authorized mobile application to access thecontext information and the additional context information via the API,wherein each of the at least one authorized mobile applications isconfigured to automatically update a respective electronic form andelectronic forms data instance according to a respective businessprocess and while communicating with a respective network serviceutilizing the context information and the additional contextinformation, said at least one authorized mobile application accessingthe context information and the additional context information storedand managed in the mobile device during the updating of said respectiveelectronic form and electronic forms data instance.
 8. The system ofclaim 7, wherein the context information includes one or more of thefollowing for each electronic form and electronic forms data instance:current status, synchronization schedule, associated mobile application,business process and associated network service.
 9. The system of claim7, wherein the unified mobile resource contextualization engine isconfigured to automatically create a registry of electronic forms thatare available to the mobile device.
 10. The system of claim 7, whereinthe unified mobile resource contextualization engine is configured toautomatically discover network services available to the mobile device.11. The system of claim 7, wherein the resources are selected from thegroup comprising: a camera, a GPS, a scanner, a magnetic card reader,and an RFID reader.
 12. The system of claim 7, wherein the unifiedmobile resource contextualization engine is configured to allow themobile device to automatically receive updates to at least oneelectronic form and any context information for the at least oneelectronic form.